Twilight Alchemist 45

Test

45. Talking About How Peaceful Everyday Life Is, It's Happiness, Isn't It?

"Good morning, Craft-oniichan! Got a delivery for ya!"

"Hey, Ed."

That day, as I was having a late breakfast, the orphaned kids, Ed and the gang, showed up.

Perhaps because I tutor them at home, they've grown fond of me.

"Are you guys going to school?"

"We're off today!"

"I see."

Currently, in Pioneer Town, there's a mandatory morning school system. With five days of classes per week, kids receive free lunch, and for parents who ensure their children attend school regularly, there's an increase in pioneer subsidies. As a result, all the kids living in Golden Dawn now attend school.

Moreover, efforts to eliminate discrimination against beast folk have been ongoing, so there are no troubles.

The four beast folk orphans each held arms full of plants.

"A delivery?"

"Yeah. Herbs are grown in the church's garden! Thanks to the fertilizer I got from you, Craft-oniichan, they grew a lot, so Az handed them out."

Kai handed over a basket full of freshly picked medicinal herbs.

"Thank you so much for these. I'll dry them later. Have you kids had breakfast?"

"Not yet."

"I see. Go ahead and eat."

"Really?"

"But Azu might have something ready."

"Then I'll go get Azure too!"

"Yay! I'll bring her right away!"

Ed dashed off without waiting for my reply.

Soon, Azure got dragged along. Since moving to Golden Dawn, her fox fur had improved, making her shine like a beauty.

"Good morning, Craft."

"Hey, good morning. Ryuuko, please."

"Understood, Master."

"Are you sure this is okay?"

"No problem at all. I'm doing quite well financially."

"Then I'll accept your offer."

"Yay!"

The kids cheered.

Just as the dishes were served, they eagerly began eating.

"So delicious!"

"Eggs are yummy!"

"Hey onii-chan, I heard monster eggs are incredibly tasty. Is that true?"

Ed looked at me while savoring a half-boiled egg.

"There are various kinds of monsters, and while many reproduce in unknown ways, some monsters multiply through eggs. Rumor has it that eggs from basilisks, cockatrices, and hydras are delicious."

"Really!? Onii-chan, get some next time!"

"No way!"

I firmly refused.

"Not just basilisks, but most monsters go berserk and attack if you try to take their eggs. Even if you manage to take them, they'll chase you to hell and back."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Leave monster eggs alone. I'll explain more about it later."

However, because of this, monster eggs often fetch high prices, making them a coveted item.

If the kids were to become adventurers, I'd have to teach them well in time.

"Ryuuko's egg dishes are delicious, right?"

"Yeah!"

"They're delicious."

"Then that's all that matters."

"Got it! Seconds, please!"

"Hey, Ed!"

"It's fine. Ryuuko."

"Okay. They're just finished cooking."

"Excellent..."

Ryuuko flawlessly timed all the dishes. It's no surprise. She's modeled after the world's best maid.

Though I don't know the details, what I got from Professor Jabil was a pseudo-personality magic stone created with the help of a legendary maid, and Ryuuko truly lives up to that legendary maid standard.

I'd like to see the maid she's based on, even if just subtly.

"I'm sorry for Ed's..."

"No worries. After you finish eating, help Ed dry those herbs."

"Aw..."

"No complaints! Craft-kun, please make sure they help!"

"Got it."

While the kids helped dry the herbs, we spent a leisurely morning.

I usually work on research until late at night, so I'm not very productive in the mornings.

If I were an adventurer, I'd be a total failure.

Not because I was reminiscing about my adventurer days. But I went to the Adventurer's Guild to procure materials.

I checked for any valuable items adventurers might have brought in.

"Hello there, Craft-san."

"Hey, Mike. Looks like you're busy as usual."

I greeted Mike, a cat beast folk recently employed as a guild staff member at the Adventurer's Guild.

There's no discrimination against beastfolk in Golden Dawn Village.

Thanks to Leafan and Kyle's contributions, the Adventurer's Guild also started some bold reforms, such as hiring beastfolk members.

The Guild Master mentioned it's also a test case to spread the idea throughout the country.

"Yeah, quite busy. Adventurers who've heard rumors keep coming and going, looking for bases."

"It's good for business. Makes it easier for me to gather materials too."

"Here are the rare materials available today."

"Let me see."

I sat at the nearby counter to examine the materials carefully. I was making sure not to disturb others.

While initially rare herbs were scarce, their quantity had slowly increased lately. However, since their quality varied greatly, each one needed appraisal.

"I'll take the high-quality ones. Can you tell me about the rest?"

"I'll throw in a little extra. The ones I've separated are of 'normal' quality, and the rest are 'low-grade'. Sorry, I'll only buy the 'superior' ones."

I purchased a few fangs, claws, and a handful of herbs among the piles of rare materials from various monsters.

I'm not sure about other alchemists, but in my case, using quality material in an alchemy pot yields more and higher-quality potions. I discussed this with Professor Jabil once, but it remained speculative, so I took it as it was.

This aspect, combined with their high prices attracted constant attention from buyers.

If the kids were to become adventurers, I'd have to teach them about this when the time comes.

"Thanks a bunch. The materials in this town are all weird, so appraisal magic often doesn't work."

"Hold on, I can use [Appraisal] magic, but I don't have the qualifications of an appraiser, right? In that case, ask Leafan."

Leafan is qualified as an appraiser.

You should have to take a troublesome national exam and training.

"It's gonna cost you a bit if you officially request it..."

"Isn't that a problem?"

"It's fine. I tell them it was appraised by Craft-san. So everyone can buy with confidence."

"What do you all think of me!"

"Oh, you really have no awareness. It's really okay."

"Well, if there's no problem, then it's fine."

Ah, I see. Without an appraisal for sale, ultimately, there's no choice but to pass it to either the commercial guild or the production guild, and if it's unappraised, it gets bought cheaply. 

In that case, is it okay to confirm and sell it under the name that I have become reasonably famous in town? Even though an appraiser didn't appraise it?

"Explain properly to the buyers."

"Of course."

There's nothing more to say then.

Since I've come all the way to the adventurer's guild, let's see if there are any familiar faces.

When I went to the back training ground, I found the orphan children I was working with earlier participating in adventurer training for some reason.

"Hey, Craft."

"Hey, it's not Raidoc. Why are Ed and the others doing hardcore training with adventurers?"

It's exactly as he said.

Ed, the wolf beastman, Saika, the rabbit beastman, Kai, the lesser panda beastman, and finally, Wamika, the cat beastman, the four of them were clearly engaging in a flashy mock battle like seasoned adventurers.

Raidoc, who came beside me, spoke before I could.

"Oh, I was thinking of asking about that too. You told us that those four, along with Jitaro and the Fox Priest, are also using Stamina Potions, right?"

"Yeah. And I also asked them to be careful about how much they change compared to other humans."

I hadn't told them, but I started explaining and giving them the potions midway.

Leafan criticized me like this.

"I think you're doing it with good intentions, but it kinda feels like a human experiment, doesn't it?"

"What!?"

I hurriedly apologized to everyone and then asked again if they could continue drinking the 'legendary' potion, and everyone agreed willingly.

I really have good comrades!

"So, what are the results?"

"..."

Raidoc pointed his thumb firmly ahead, where the seasoned adventurer party of four was fiercely engaging with the children who were trying their best to keep up.

Both parties were sweaty and had serious expressions. They were out of breath.

"Huh? Both parties are tired?"

"Yeah, today's training menu is without Stamina Potions."

"Huh? So, they haven’t been drinking potions since this morning?"

"That's what I instructed. They shouldn't have drunk any."

The Stamina Potions I made are known for allowing almost endless movement. In combat, they would get out of breath and sweat, but they shouldn't show fatigue so clearly. In other words, they really didn't take them.

"Wait a minute, what ranks are Ed and the others fighting against?"

"Two are C-rank, and the other two are D-rank, I think?"

"What!? They're basically fighting a real C-rank party!?"

"Yeah. We got carried away and taught the kids some things."

"Indeed, now that we're used to it, it doesn't seem strange, but normal kids without emblems shouldn't have sword skills like that."

"In knight families and such, it's occasionally seen. Children of famous adventurers."

"It's not like they're completely inexperienced."

"Don't get it wrong, Craft. Those kids have been trained since birth, and I can guarantee they won't reach the same level of strength as Ed and the others at the same age."

"Well, in the forest, the comparison is too weak."

For safety reasons, when I go on a picnic with Jitaro and the kids, I only let them face Orcs, for example.

"That's right. Craft, you sometimes let them hunt monsters, right?"

"Strictly speaking, it's helping Jitaro hunt."

"Once you enter these forests, it naturally becomes monster hunting."

"Well, yeah. But the area near the town is pretty well cleared out, right?"

"That's partly true, but partly not."

"What do you mean?"

I wanted to see Kai and the others' training, but Raidock's conversation seemed more important.

"As you know, the current Golden Dawn Adventurer's Guild has a considerable number of adventurers gathered."

"Yeah."

"Most of their work involves escorting caravans, maintaining town security, and hunting nearby monsters. Especially monster hunting, even compared to other towns, has an overwhelming number of requests, is abundant, and pays well."

"Yeah, because Kyle is doing his best."

Kyle, who insisted that to gather excellent adventurers, a lot of rewards were necessary, allocated a significant amount from the town's budget to the Adventurer's Guild.

Thanks to that, the Adventurer's Guild also takes on jobs like maintaining town security that they ordinarily wouldn't.

"So why aren't the monsters decreasing?"

"They are decreasing. The cause is different. First, this frontier is too vast."

Ah, I see. The scale has been feeling off lately, but this town's size itself is unprecedentedly large. Even just saying "the surrounding area" includes an immense area.

Even the grain fields are hidden beyond the horizon and cannot be seen. To call the 'town' including even those areas, the surrounding area is of extraordinary size.

"Another point is that no matter how much we reduce them, monsters keep spawning from deep within the forest. Should we burn the forest?"

"That's not an option."

Wood is a valuable and essential resource. Of course, we're cutting them down at an astonishing rate, but for some reason, the forest in this region grows fast, and before you know it, it's back to normal.

Properly clearing and cultivating would be okay, but just cutting down trees doesn’t solve the problem; they seem to grow back quickly.

There are plenty of flatlands and fertile lands elsewhere; there's simply no need to go that far.

"Burning down even a bit, the forest is vast, you know?"

"We don't know what might happen."

"That's true."

"But still, why do monsters spawn so much?"

"Yeah, the forest is just too vast. But at the same time, it has a lot of valuable materials."

"That's true."

It's a forest where we can collect valuable herbs and mushrooms not in general circulation. I don't really want to burn it down too much.

Of course, burning down the entire forest would be impossible given its size.

"Raidoc! Are you here? Can I have a moment?"

"Huh?"

Running towards us is Sainos Gashul, the guild leader of the Golden Dawn Adventurer's Guild.

By the way, he's the younger brother of the guild leader who stayed behind in the Zeed Settlement Village and became the guild leader there. Perhaps some privileges within the Adventurer's Guild allowed for this.

Sainos is usually calm and quite different from the image of a guild leader, but he is sharp-witted and excellent.

The fact that Guild Leader Sainos is raising his voice means there must be some problem.

"Oh, Craft-san is here too. Could you listen to what I'd say?"

"Something related to the town, right?"

"Yes."

"Let's go."

We hurried to the guild leader's room.